rear tire carriers - how close is your tire to the window?

**EricsXJ** · 08-05-2008, 12:24 AM

Okay so I'm in the middle of another project, and am curious about the other carriers out there.

If you have a tire carrier where the tire sits at an angle to match the profile of the back of the XJ, how much room is there between your tire and the window?

blamo · 08-05-2008, 05:21 AM

I am trying to find one (or make one )that doesn't have the tire 3 feet away from the Jeep.

**Jason, aka: Jeepin.com** · 08-05-2008, 10:03 AM

don't tell me you're getting rid of the AEV bumper?!

My C4x4 carrier. Technically it's supposed to sit at an angle, but lately I've had a bad habit of backing into trees and bending it.

**skullver** · 08-05-2008, 11:37 AM

I don't have a side profile pic and it is not on my rig right now but it sits about 3" -4" from my hatch and is tilted back to match.

wil badger · 08-05-2008, 05:39 PM

Here you go man......You can bring it in pretty close it all depends on the design> I would say mine was around 4" or so from the glass.

dakotajeep · 08-05-2008, 10:40 PM

you guys arent playing around...

**EricsXJ** · 08-05-2008, 11:53 PM

You guys are awesome. That is just what I was looking for.

Jason, you need to fix that!

I modified my friends C4x4 carrier before - raised the mount up 6 or 7 inches and in 1 or 2 inches. It was very easy to do on that carrier and really helped his clearance and departure angle.

I am doing something similar to mine (so no I am not getting rid of my AEV bumper). Here is an old pic of my tire carrier with a 33" tire on it.

I don't really like how it seems to "hang" off the back, almost looks like it is sagging a little. And now with a 35" tire on there it's certainly a lot of weight. (AEV designed it for a 33" tire MAX). So I've already bent the vertical square tube to the appropriate angle. That tube is now 3.5" away from the window which means the actual tire is about 5.5" away from the window. I am contemplating cutting off the top of that tube, eliminating the tube between the tire and window. I could then slide the mount for the tire closer in and have the tire 3-4" from the window instead. That may be a little hard to understand without pics... Oh yeah, I've also raised the mount up 6" so the top of my 35" tire will be about level with the roof.

I may be able to put up some pics of it before I make the final decision of what to do. Either way it will be completed before the weekend.

Edit: What sucks is I may need to find a different place to mount my CB antenna, which also means I'll probably need a longer one.

**Jason, aka: Jeepin.com** · 08-06-2008, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricsXJ

Jason, you need to fix that!

I modified my friends C4x4 carrier before - raised the mount up 6 or 7 inches and in 1 or 2 inches. It was very easy to do on that carrier and really helped his clearance and departure angle.

I think I only did it once actually. First time I bent up my tire carrier was dragging the tire on the ground going through a deep culvert. It sat more like wil's after that incident.

I've actually been thinking about just ditching the spare all together and leaving it on the trailer back at camp, which would probably work for 95% of our wheeling since we usually go to ORV parks where you're never that far from camp. Plus that would cut out 90lbs hanging off the back end.

winkosmosis · 08-06-2008, 11:46 AM

Is there no room inside? If you don't go that far from camp what other gear do you need?

**Jason, aka: Jeepin.com** · 08-06-2008, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

Is there no room inside? If you don't go that far from camp what other gear do you need?

Not if you've got your backseat up.

As far as gear, we usually carry a tool box and misc small repair stuff with us on the trails. Bigger spare parts -- axle shafts, driveshaft, draglink, etc -- usually get left on the trailer back at camp. It really depends on where we're going though. When we went to Las Cruces, NM, a few years back I packed everything into the XJ, because those trails are long and way out in the middle of nowhere. Most of the time we're at a "local" ORV park though where you're probably never more than a mile or so from camp, if that far, so everyone heads back to camp for lunch, etc.

Highway 4x4 · 08-06-2008, 02:03 PM

Like the Brits do with the Rovers,,, mount it to the hood,,,,,,LOL and LMAO.

KentuckyXJ · 08-06-2008, 02:47 PM

im in the process of designing on right now, i want it tucked into that window as close as possible

**EricsXJ** · 08-07-2008, 01:12 PM

So here's what I have so far:

Before:

Bent back and mount raised:

With it like this, the carrier arm is 3.5" away from the window. Like I posted above I am contemplating cutting off the top portion (at the yellow line). This would allow me to slide the mounting bracket back (red arrow) putting the tire closer to the window, where the carrier arm is now. We will see...

wil badger · 08-07-2008, 05:58 PM

Don't forget about that third brake light.If the tire comes up and covers it you could get a ticket for it.

**skullver** · 08-07-2008, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wil badger

Don't forget about that third brake light.If the tire comes up and covers it you could get a ticket for it.

actually I thought as long as two are working you are legal, as not all cars even have a 3rd brake light.

to the op:
Like your addition to the bumper

08-05-2008, 05:39 PM	#5
wil badger Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 2,827 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Here you go man......You can bring it in pretty close it all depends on the design> I would say mine was around 4" or so from the glass. __________________ One Built XJ

08-07-2008, 05:58 PM	#14
wil badger Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 2,827 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Don't forget about that third brake light.If the tire comes up and covers it you could get a ticket for it. __________________ One Built XJ